Social Link
by that duck
Summary: Basically a retelling of Kanji's social link path if he were a romance option also a few other events sprinkled in there for good measure includes a somewhat socially inept Souji
1. Rank 0

The large room was filled to the brim with steam. Steam, sweat, and tension. Within it two young men stood at a standoff. Though they were two physical beings, in reality they were one in the same; two sides of the same coin. The young man and his shadow, the representation and manifestation of his repressed emotions, stood face to face in silence. They both knew exactly what was going to happen. The man, Kanji, wanted to keep these feelings locked up within himself and his shadow wanted to be free. This could only end one way.

"Kanji!" The double doors behind them flung open and a group of teenagers ran in.

"Oh, come now, enough with the charade." Kanji's shadow broke the temporary silence. "Isn't it awful to deceive people? To deceive yourself…?" His words stung Kanji because they were true; Kanji was a liar. "What's so bad about doing what I want to do?"

Plenty, but that wasn't the point right now. Kanji was in a tough spot and now there were spectators. "That has nothing to do with it…" Kanji spoke but it was hardly audible. It's hard to argue what one knows is true.

The shadow smirked. "I'm what you really want, aren't I?"

As more words were thrown about it became clear to the spectators that this wasn't going to end well. Their leader, a young man named Souji, grew anxious. The previous times someone faced a shadow like this ended in a battle, he expected today to go no differently. He signaled for his friends to prepare themselves. Among the group was another young man, Yosuke, two girls, Yukiko and Chie, and a bear named Teddie. Throughout the past few weeks they had formed a sort of rag-tag rescue team for the victims of a recent series of serial murders. So far, they have been able to save one person.

"Ohh, how I hate girls… So arrogant and self-centered! They cry if you get angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies…" The shadow looked distressed. "They look at me like I'm some…some disgusting THING and say that I'M THE A WEIRDO…Laughing at me all, the while!" The situation was getting worse and worse by the second. "'You like to sew? What a queer!' 'Painting is so not you.' "

"'But you're a guy…'"

"'You don't act like a guy…'"

"'Why aren't you manly?'"

"What does it mean to 'be a guy'? What does it mean to 'be manly'? Girls are so scary…"

"I-I ain't scared of 'em!" Kanji tried to combat that accusation, to no avail.

"Men are much better…" The shadow spoke again. "They'd never say those awful degrading things. Yes, I vastly prefer men…"

It became clear that a soft spot was hit. "Hell with that! What makes you think you can say that shit with my face…!?" Kanji was furious at this point.

"Why, you're me…and I'm you… You do know that, don't you…?" This was it, this conversation happened the last three times someone faced their shadow. Souji probably could have done something to prevent that this time, but he figured that it was best for Kanji to face himself now that the opportunity had presented itself.

"No…nuh-uh! No way!" Kanji grew more agitated with every word that came out of his shadow's mouth. "There's no way in hell that you're me!" And then he'd done it. The group behind him prepared for battle.

The shadow began spewing more shadows, feelings of hatred and dissent emanated from his body until they began to gather up again, transforming the shadow into a large and somewhat disturbing monster. Kanji passed out once it finished materializing, as per usual. Then the group sprung into action.

It took some time but eventually they were able to subdue the shadow and return it to its previous form. But that didn't mean it was over yet. The shadow stood up again and prepared for another attack.

"Kanji is still rejecting it!" Teddie hastily noted.

"Well I can't blame him with this many witnesses…" Yoshuke chimed in. It was true, having had this many people see Kanji's repressed feelings must have been though, especially for a man who had a reputation he wanted to uphold.

"Such a passionate approach… I think you three would make wonderful boyfriends." The shadow was trying to get to Kanji again and now that the group was worn out, another attack would do them in.

"S-Stop it! Y-You've got it all wrong!" Yosuke panicked.

"I don't care who…Won't someone, anyone, please accept me!" The shadow seemed to be becoming more distraught than Kanji. "Accept me for who I am!" And with that, it began making its way toward the other men.

But Kanji wasn't stupid, he knew he had to end it. "I said stop it!" He leapt forward and punched the living daylights out of his shadow, vaguely feeling the pain in his own cheek.

"Tch. Can't believe something like this is inside me..." Kanji said, standing over himself. "I've known all this time I've had something like you! It ain't a matter of guys or chicks…I'm just scared shitless of being rejected." He was deep in thought. "I'm a total pansy who tries to make everyone hate me."

For what was probably the first time that day, Souji spoke up. "You need to be brave." His voice was calm and he remained collected, despite the beating he just took.

Kanji winced. "I know, I know! I need to accept this, right?" He took a deep breath. "Come on…get up. Anyone who looks like me, I know they ain't so weak that they can't take a punch." The shadow stood up, and Kanji kept talking. "I already know that you're me. You're me…and I'm you dammit." The shadow nodded…and seemed somewhat relived. Then it happened, just like the previous three times, the shadow dissipated and took on another form, a persona, and it looked like a strong one.

"Ngh…shit..." Just as Kanji's persona faded away he collapsed ad fell on his back.

"Kanji-kun!" Chie called out as the others moved closer to him.

"Let's get him out of here!" Yosuke suggested and then he and Souji grabbed him and slung one of his arms over their shoulders, leaving Chie, Yukiko, and Teddie to stand guard as they made the long trek back to the real world.

"Kanji-kun…are you ok?" Kanji head a voice calling out to him as he regained consciousness. It was Yukiko.

"Its…it's nothin'…" He replied, trying to act tough, though no one was really buying it at that point. "Heheh…I feel great…it's like my mind's all cleared up"

"Glad to hear it." The leader spoke again, giving him a hand standing back up.

"Hey…about what just happened." He spoke openly though the question was clearly directed toward Souji.

Souji showed concern in his face before answering. "We'll tell you later." Kanji needed to get rested up before they explained everything to him.

"Yeah…you better…"

"We'll explain everything later. You need to take a rest now." Yukiko spoke up, knowing their leader wasn't the most eloquent when it came to formulating sentences.

"We'll be waiting for you at school." Chie chimed in with another vital detail that their leader missed. Souji mentally berated himself for that.

"School…? Sure if I ever feel like going." Kanji responded honestly.

"I'll take this guy home. If anyone asks, I'll just say I found him somewhere like this." Yosuke gave Kanji the impression that they had done this before.

A few days passed by and Kanji and the group met back up at the school roof. Through some awkward conversation and a few questions it was decided that Kanji should join them in their attempt to save the future victims of the serial murders.


	2. Rank 1

Rank -1-

Souji had heard word that Kanji was bullying people. Though he had better things to do than check up on speculation and rumor, if Kanji were to get in any trouble he would not be able to assist them in their missions which would be a major setback. Though he wasn't exactly good with words if this was an issue he wanted it dealt with.

He found Kanji on the first floor of the practice building, staring out a window.

"Kanji…" Souji ran his fingers through his silver hair before glaring at the other man.

"Senpai!" Kanji's expression started as excited but soon turned sullen. "…So, why are you making that scary face at me. Do you have something to tell me?"

"I do." He replied softly.

"…I see. Let's go somewhere else then." In his mind, he was going through all the things he might have done wrong. As they walked out of the school he wondered if he wasn't being helpful enough in the tv world, or maybe he missed a few meeting he hadn't heard about.

Soon enough they were by the riverbank and Souji decided that this was privacy enough.

"So what'd you drag me out here for?" Kanji hoped he hadn't done something too bad.

"How do I put this…."

"You're…"Kanji interrupted. "You're not here to tell me off or something…are you?"

"Something to that effect, yeah." Souji spoke with little emotion in his voice.

"I knew it…"He braced himself. "Well, give me your worst. Might as well get it over with now."

Souji prodded around him head for words; he had never needed the talk to anyone about something like this before so he wondered if a direct approach was the way to go. Eventually Kanji began to look even more anxious than he was so he decided to go for it.

"Alright, I've heard from multiple sources that you've been running with bullies. Now I'm not going to tell you how to run your life or anything, but this could be detrimental to our mission."

"Bullies!? Really?! You think I'm with bullies?!" Kanji was far too surprised for this to actually be true, Souji thought.

He took a step closer. "Look, I want to believe in you, so please no bullshit. Just tell me the truth."

"Well it's not true! I didn't do it, senpai!" Kanji looked around nervously. "I know it's hard to believe me because of all the rumors but….I dunno man but you gotta believe me."

Despite all the rumors, despite what people say about him, the man standing in front of him cannot possibly be capable of the things he was accused of. The man who stood before him was too…soft, it was almost funny. Souji had seen him at his lowest; he had seen his true self. He wondered why he even gave any thought to those accusations.

"Senpai…"

Before he realized Souji had once again fallen into deep thought, Kanji must think he's weird.

"S-Sorry. Look I don't actually think that you did it. Speaking to you now has gotten rid of my doubts. You couldn't have done any of the things the rumors say you did."

"H-Hey! I totally could have!" Kanji protested.

"No, you couldn't have. But that's beside the point." For the first time Souji chuckled in front of Kanji, it almost took him by surprise. "But that's all I needed, you can go now if you want."

Kanji was surprised by how easily he accepted what he had to say. Most people would have blown him off and ignored him. Hell most people already have. But Souji listened to him, he was actually willing to listen to him.

"Uh…yeah." He was about to turn around when a thought hit him. "H-Hey senpai…when you have time could you maybe listen to what I have to say?"

Souji stared at him curiously. It was almost as if his eyes could burn holes in his head, but he chose not to. "Why the sudden interest in venting?"

Kanji blushed a bit. "It's just that I have all these thoughts and feelings I'm keeping inside….but I guess I'm too dumb to know what to do with them so I just keep them there. And that's not a good thing, right?"

Souji was impressed, that was probably the most mature thing he had heard Kanji say since they met. If he wanted an opportunity to change for the better why not, Souji decided that he would indulge Kanji.

"Yeah, sure. Just way the word and I'm there!" He put his hand on Kanji's shoulder to reassure him, had he been taller it would have been more effective but he had to make do with what he had.

"Yeah!" He smiled. "And to do something about those rumors….I should do a bunch of good things like beat up a gang or something big like that!" Kanji's eyes seemed to light up at the idea and he was pumped and ready to go.

"I think…" Souji said loudly enough to get Kanji's attention. "You do good enough helping us out. If anyone gives you any problems or if you hear any more rumors come to me. I might not be able to go away but talking could help." That and he could keep Kanji from beating the accuser up.

Kanji ran his fingers through his blonde hair and gave Souji a sheepish smile. "You're prolly' right. Last thing we need is me causin' any more trouble. Sorry, I'll try to keep cool about things."

Souji was in for a lot of talking with Kanji, he wondered if it was worth it….

They spent the rest of the evening talking until it got dark, then they went home.


	3. Rank 2

Rank -2-

Souji found himself in the familiar diner at the shopping district, he normally only goes there to try their rainy day challenge, but today was a different occasion. Today Kanji caught up with him after lunch and asked him to come. Souji, not wanting to be rude, accepted his request.

"Man, I'm starving for some Chinese!" Kanji chukled. "But if I eat then go home, I can't finish mom's food…She serves so much you'd think I have five brothers." Kanji always spoke fondly of his mother. Anyone else would have thought him a momma's boy. But Souji had some idea of what was really going on. Kanji was afraid of rejection, so it makes sense that he never really had any friends as a child. It was very possible that growing up his mother was his only friend. Souji found that a little sad, but also sweet.

It wasn't long before Souji noticed that the waiter was asking for his order. He really had to do something about his habit of getting too deep into thought. "I'll just have whatever he ordered." He responded, motioning toward Kanji.

Just as his order was taken, a policeman walked in. "Aren't you Kanji Tatsumi? What are you doing here?" As if he didn't have any business here, typical cop.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'?" Kanji noticed it too.

The cop gave some drivel about how there's been a lot of trouble in this area. Though his words were purely informative, his tone was very accusing.

"Just don't pull anything, got it?" That cop probably felt real proud of himself.

"But I didn't…"

"I'm gonna go eat somewhere else." The cop sighed and left.

"Asshole….cops are always like that." Kanji seemed hurt. "But I'm used to it." Souji had his doubts. "I'm always causing trouble….for you and mom."

Souji decided to speak up. "You need to make a change." He sighed before turning in his chair to face the younger man. "You say you cause a lot of trouble for people. For me and your mom. Well then what you need to do seems pretty clear, right?" He smiled.

Kanji blushed. "Right! I need to make my mom stop worrying so much! What do they call it…filial piety, right?" He was suddenly filled with enthusiasm. "Yeah, I got this new power so I'm gonna use it to make this town a more peaceful place! Let's do it, Senpai!"

Souji felt that this was a good step toward Kanji bettering himself. He smiled, "I'm with you, all the way." He sighed. "But you might want to cool it down just a bit, won't do you any good if you leave your leader behind." Souji's expression was a little sullen.

"'Course not, Senpai." Kanji reassured. Souji smiled weakly.

Their food arrived; they spent their time eating with idle chatter. Once the meal was done it was time to go, though Kanji wasn't quite ready to leave Souji just yet.

"Listen, um, Senpai…" He began just as they were out the door. "You've been real cool about listening to me talk about…well, me." His voice gave away just how nervous he was. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me about things that are buggin' you…alright?"

Should he take it? Someone was standing here, asking Souji to open up. He wasn't good with words; would he even be able to say anything at all? Is this a risk he wanted to take?

"L-let's go somewhere else…" He finally said, leading the way.

Eventually, after a few minutes of painful silence, they arrived at the bench near the riverbank. It seemed a private enough place. They sat on opposite sides of the table.

"…." Souji just stared, Kanji wondered what he was thinking about. In reality, Souji was drawing a blank, for the first time he couldn't think of anything.

"W-when it comes to these things…there isn't really a good or bad place to start…so just start, man." Kanji made an attempt to reach him.

"My parents…" Souji paused for a second. "They're always working. Even when I was a little kid they would always be working…Sometimes even abroad so I usually had to stay at a relative's or with friends." He stopped to thin again. "Friends, right, I never really had any of those. Their job had us moving every few months, I mean I guess it was cool at first and I did get to see a lot of things. But…sometimes I just…"

He was struggling to find his words, though this time he seemed visibly distraught.

"It's ok, senpai. You don't have to say it all in one go…" He stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We can keep talking next time."

"S-Sorry." Souji hung his head low.

"Don't apologize, you'll make me feel bad about myself." Kanji tried to lighten the mood, but Souji wasn't convinced.

They spent a few more minutes in silence before it got dark, after that they decided to go home.


	4. Intermission 01- Camping Trip

-Intermission-

The school trip was something most people looked forward to. At least, that's what Souji and Yosuke thought. Unfortunately the school trip was just a clever way for Inaba to get someone to clean the hillside for free. Other than that it was one night camping and then they went home the next day. Not too exciting but the teenagers saw it as a little break from normal life.

"Are you serious? Man that blows." Yosuke whined as he slouched down in his seat. The group had decided to meet up at Junes to discuss the trip. Originally the boys approached the idea with excitement but now they were thinking of how to get out of it.

"I think we swam a bit in the lake last year, though. That was kind of fun." Yukiko attempted to cheer the buys up bub it didn't really work.

"What about you, Kanji? Are you going?" Chie's voice broke though Yosuke's groans. Kanji looked up surprised. "Why you askin' me?"

Chie tried to explain. "They're trying to cut down on the budget so the first and second year students will be grouped together. So, if you go we'll see you there!"

Kanji seemed to get the idea, but he only nodded in her direction. He didn't want to go and would probably ditch anyway. He figured he might as well save himself the trip and just pretend to be sick or something.

The next day they all met up near the campsite, Kanji included. "We figured you weren't coming…" Yukiko chimed in once they saw him.

"Yeah, well the school pulled this crap called 'the mandatory attendance policy' so I have to be here or get held back a year…" He looked a little disappointed but it was out of his hands.

Souji thought he could lighten the situation. "Well, at least we're all here, so it'll be more fun!" The others seemed a bit thrown off by his sudden enthusiasm but Kanji bought it. "Yeah, senpai's right! It'll be more fun now that we're all here." Souji smiled lightly, knowing his plan worked. The rest of the group's spirits lifted at Kanji's words, because they knew there was truth in them.

The rest of the day went wonderfully. Souji and Yosuke discovered that Yukiko and Chie could not cook at all and that that one big girl is very mean. They went to their tent, sadly, without having had anything to eat. They were just about ready to go to sleep when they heard someone from outside.

"Hey uh, guys…it's Kanji…can I ,er, come in?" He sounded a little uncomfortable but Souji figured that he might as well let him in before King Moron sees him. Yosuke tried to silently protest but by the time he realized what was going on the tent door was already open. Awkwardly stepping in, Kanji was lugging his duffle bag, indicating his intention of sleeping in their tent. Souji didn't mind but Yosuke didn't seem too keen on the idea.

"Listen, Kanji, are we going to be ok with you here?" A nervous voice sounded off.

An obviously confused Kanji sat up. "What do you mean?" Yosuke followed suit but also scooched back a bit. "Listen, it's cool and all that. You know, whatever jingles your tingle we just need to set some ground rules."

"WHAT?" The shout came from neither Yosuke or Kanji, the shout came from Souji who shot up at Yosuke's words. "Y-yosuke I think we can trust Kanji…" He sounded a bit apologetic.

"Y-yeah! Senpai's right…..wait no! I LIKE WOMEN!" Kanji's face blushed to a bright red.

"Yeah, yeah, you're probably right…alright whatever. But still…no funny business." The other two calmed down at Yosuke's words. "Alright then…goodnight." The finished speaking and then lied down, back facing the other two.

"…o-ok then…night Kanji…" Souji turned to lie down but not before seeing Kanji mouth the words 'thank you, senpai' to him. Souji never found out just how late Kanji stayed up that night, sometimes he flet he should have stayed up with him.

The next morning they awoke the soothing sound of King Moron's voice telling them to get up before makes them. It took about an hour to get everything cleaned up but once they did they met up at the lakeside.

"Ok ladies! Time to swim!" Yosuke proclaimed in the most elegant manner possible. Though the girls objected to the idea, Yosuke was somehow able to convince them to get into the swimsuits he brought for them.

When they all came back everyone was in a swimsuit, save for Kanji, who wasn't in the mood to swim.

"Wow you two look great!" Yosuke could hardly contain himself. "S-stop staring, Yosuke!" Though the girls wished he would.

"But you look cute! Don't they, Souji?" Though Souji was too preoccupied to pay Yosuke any attention. He was trying to talk to Kanji, who was doing everything he could to avoid eye contact.

"Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to go home now?" Souji didn't quite get why he was so concerned over Kanji, but he wasn't really going to question it.

Kanji was beet red, though Souji didn't seem to notice. "I'm fine, senpai, you go on and have fun…I'll just watch from here…"

"If you're sure…." Souji turned his attention back to the others. "Oh wow you two look cute!" He exclaimed, having seen them in their swimsuits for the first time.

At that point Chie had had enough with being eye candy and proceeded to swiftly punt both Yosuke and Souji into the water. The water splashed big as they hit it back first and though their bodies ached, their hearts were at ease because they saw two cute girls in swimsuits.

"Are you guys ok?!" Kanji carefully peered over the edge, worried that they might have gotten hurt from their landing. As he looked at them he noticed that their bodies glistened in the sun, and before he knew it he was staring at them intently, specifically, Souji. He could have stopped himself had he wanted to, however forces beyond his control kept his eyes glued to his senpai. However he probably should have paid more attention to his surrounding and less to his sanpai. If he had then he would have noticed that his nose was bleeding, and he also would have noticed that Yukiko noticed. Perhaps he would have also noticed when she ran over to him and pushed him over the edge of the cliff right into the ice cold water.

Needless to say the rest of the day didn't get any better.

They spent the rest of their day trying to get over their trauma.


	5. Rank 3

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY OMFG I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH SCHOOL WORK BUT OK I AM UPDATING AND I AM KEEPING THIS FIC ALIVE I PROMISE YOU THAT TO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME OAO

* * *

Rank -3-

The hallways were alive with the sound of students anxious to leave the school's high walls. The school day was over and now they were free to run about their own business. Perhaps they would partake in after school extracurricular activities, or part time jobs, or simply just hanging out with friends. Or maybe they would be invited over to a friend's house for the first time.

Souji admitted to himself that he was rather nervous, he did not know why Kanji was his friend; it was only natural that they would go over to each other's houses once in a while. However, it was rather sudden; just as he was returning from lunch earlier, Kanji walked up to him, rather aggressively, and asked to hang out later. 'Hang out', Souji soon found out, actually meant 'come over to my place', as Kanji so casually put it. Either way the harm was already done and Souji had walked with Kanji to his home.

"I'm gonna' warn ya" Kanji started. "There's not much to do here, we could go somewhere else if you want." He was nervously picking at his face, secretly hoping that the first friend he's made in a while didn't think he was boring. On the contrary, Souji found visiting new places interesting, regardless of the circumstances.

"Yeah well if we get bored we can just think of something to do…" He thought out loud. "That or we could also study!" However hew made sure Kanji heard that bit. Which he did and grimaced a bit at the thought.

"Orrr we could just go to Junes…" Kanji suggested. The other boy looked over at him. "Or study."

Just as they were about to enter a howling noise came from behind them. "KANJIIIIII!"

They turned around to see an old man running up to them, it seemed that he had grave news to deliver.

"What is it, pops?" A concerned Kanji asked. The man took a few seconds to catch his breath before finally speaking. "It's your mother! She was taken to the hospital!"

It was as if Kanji's world had frozen he stood there, mouth agape for what seemed like an eternity yet before anyone could know what happened he was gone. If Souji looked hard enough he could see Kanji's silhouette in the distance gradually getting smaller. "How long ago was this?" He asked the old man.

"Not too long ago, though you should hurry and catch up with him. If anything happens he'll need a friend." And with that Souji was on his way after him.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Souji could hear Kanji's shouts, even from the other side of the wing. He began to walk faster, fearing Kanji would do something they both might regret.

However, upon reaching the young man in question he found him shouting not at a doctor but his own mother. "The little boy was hit right in front of me I couldn't have just left him there!" She spoke but none of it really made sense to Souji. Kanji on the other hand….

"That doesn't matter do you have any idea how worried I was?!" He huffed a bit and then stormed off.

"Kanji wait!" Souji tried to grab his attention but it proved futile, instead he turned his attention to Mrs. Tatsumi. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Yes, I'm alright….you're not Souji Seta by any chance, are you?" Souji was surprised that she remembered him; they had only met once before and that was only very briefly.

"Uh yeah, that's me."

She offered him another smile, this one a bit friendlier. "I want to thank you, young man."

"But I didn't do anything…"

"He hasn't had a real friend in….well I can't remember how long it's been." She sat in a nearby chair and relaxed a bit. "I wasn't expecting it but a few weeks ago he suddenly comes in talking about having friends. And he keeps mentioning you! Senpai this, Senpai that. It's really quite heartwarming. Thank you."

Souji felt touched, not only by her words but also that Kanji thought so much of him and the others. It felt nice. "He's been a good friend to me too!"

"That's always good to hear. Now you should go after him, he's going to need some help cooling off."

After a few more words Souji was outside again, wondering where Kanji could have gone. And though it took some time, he eventually found him sitting by himself on the side of the river.

"Hey there…your mom is ok by the way, so is the boy." He said sounding a little smug as he sat down next to him.

"Sorry 'bout that….I jus' don't like hospitals…." He couldn't look Souji in the face right now.

"Not many people do…" His response brought an awkward silence that lasted until he spoke again. "So….Senpai this, Senpai that…you sure talk a lot about me."

Were there a record for how fast someone could jump out of a bench, Kanji would have broken it. "SHE TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT?!" His face turned into a shade of record-breaking red.

"There's nothing wrong with talking about your friends." Souji replied calmly.

"Right….friends." Kanji sat back down, a small grin on his face.

They spent the rest of the evening talking nonsense.


End file.
